New Doll and...Blankets??

A couple of items from Breyer's Black Friday sales that I'd bought recently arrived. One purchase was the doll, Kaitlyn Cowgirl.

I was surprised that she was simply in a plastic bag and not a box of some sort, so I popped onto Breyer's site to check if that was how they were all marketed.

As I looked for the doll, I discovered that Breyer had recently added something that I had not seen. And, it wasn't even marked as new - it was just quietly posted. 

Holiday blankets!

I collect Breyer's blankets and so I ordered three. They are shipped randomly, but I would like to have all three and  hope to find someone willing to trade if I get duplicates.

Two other things were in the box with Kaitlyn. Stay 'tooned!

Christmas Card of the Day

My sister was working in the archives of the museum and found this beautiful 113 year old Christmas card  in one of the collections. More below the card. 

This post card with a golden horseshoe was sent in 1908 from Anna Owen who was in Hoopeston, Illinois to her friend Ida Robinson Roadruck in Brookston, Indiana.

Breyer's November Stablemate Surprises & a Recipe

Yesterday Breyer dropped a notice that their fourth annual November Stablemate gambler's choice/blind bags would be available today at 2:00 PM EST to Collectors Club members.

This year's offering is the mini Clydesdale (squee!!) in four colors. (I want that blue! And the red! Although the gold and silver are nice, too!) Like last year, the 2021 web specials are in blind bags.

Last year Breyer offered Festive Filigrees. I really wanted the Darwin (the Lippizaner) and actually ended up with all four. (All photos from Breyer.)

The 2019 assortment was Starry Skies, a gambler's choice of four unicorns with stars. Unicorns are not my cuppa hot chocolate so I did not order any.

The very first Stablemate holiday web special came in 2018, the Fruitcake Fillies. (I love that name!) They were cute, but like the 2019 Starry Skies, I did not like these enough to order any of them.

This year it's a favorite vintage mold that's been shrunk down to Stablemate size - I'm going to be happy no matter which colors I get!

Today's recipe is a legacy from my mother. I don't know where she got it, but it's another holiday staple since my childhood. This candy hardens quickly so move fast after you've added the nuts and vanilla.

Spiced Nuts

Mix 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup evaporated milk, and 2 tablespoons of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir constantly until it reaches soft ball stage. 

Quickly stir in 1/2 cup pecans and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and let cool. (Parchment might work - I've never tried it, though.) 

If you or your family are like me and mine, spiced nuts won't last long around your house so I double the recipe.

Holiday Horsiness: A Pony for the Winter

The holidays are here! Thanksgiving is this Thursday and Christmas is only a few weeks after that. I thought it would be fun to look at how horses are included in our holiday celebrations.

I'm going to start with an old favorite, the book  A Pony for the Winter. It's not really a Christmas book, but it takes place during the winter months. My original copy is long gone. I found this one in a pile of giveaway books at school. It's yellowed with age but other than that, the book is in great shape.

I was seven when I first read A Pony for the Winter. I had my glass horses, read everything about horses that I could, and had been pestering my parents for my own horse, insisting that the back yard was big enough. (That phrase has followed me through my life to this day - I must really have been insistent!)

The story of a girl like me, Deborah longs for her own horse. When ponies appear down the road from her home, she visits them and discovers that they are summer carnival ponies and need homes for the winter.

Her parents agree to let her have one of them and after soon Mollie, a small black pony, arrives.

Initially, everyone in the family as well as some friends help Deborah clean Mollie's stall, feed and water her, and even ride her. 

When I was twelve and got Amy, I remembered this page - could I ever relate! I used to lug buckets of water down the moraine to the paddock during the winter when the hoses froze. More than once I went to school in wet jeans from all that water sloshing out of the buckets.

A view from the top of the moraine.

Deborah finds that having a pony is worth every bit of work that they are. Eventually her family and friends get tired of helping, and soon Deborah is the only one caring for Mollie. I can still quote one of my favorite lines verbatim: "Ponies are a lot of work, but you're worth it!"

I used to look at this picture and just wish, wish, wish I had a horse! 

After a long winter full of the ups and downs of having a pony, spring rolls around and it is time to give Mollie back to the carnival. Deborah is sad to lose her pony, but then she is asked by the carnival operator to take Mollie again when summer is over. The book ends on a high note with Deborah happily looking forward to having Mollie back in a few short months.

Stay 'tooned for more holiday horsiness!